Google Interview
May Set Back IPO;
Auction Starts Today

By

Kevin J. Delaney,

Gregory Zuckerman and

Robin Sidel Staff Reporters of The Wall Street Journal

Updated Aug. 13, 2004 12:01 a.m. ET

Playboy Magazine released an interview with Google Inc.'s founders that securities-law specialists say could run afoul of rules barring companies from promoting their stocks in advance of an initial public offering.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday, Google said the text of the Playboy article, which it added to its prospectus, "presented certain statements about our company in isolation and did not...